Snippet #2005458

Emerging onto the smaller street lined with the shops of smaller tradesmen (saddler, blacksmith, etc.), Kate was sure she was in the clear. Travelling at the speed she was, she was only 5 minutes away from escaping the town and galloping up and over the hills. God only knew what lay beyond the town, but it had to be better than a snarling lawdog and his gun-happy girl snapping at her heels.

She'd left that miner in the dust, and there was no way he was coming after her with that mule. As for the marshal...well, she hadn't seen a horse when she was riding in, but then again she hadn't gotten very far before he'd fired his first shot and ordered her down. For all she knew, he was mounting up right now.

As if to confirm her suspicions, a second set of hoof beats rang out behind her. Whatever he was riding, it was fast and fresh. Gunsmoke just might be the fastest pair of hooves in the west, but she'd been riding him for near seven hours now with only a short break at a muddy creek bed. Probably not the wisest decision to have come galloping into town, but hell, Kate loved to make an entrance, and wise decisions never had been her specialty.

She didn't hear any more gunshots; it seemed the marshal was concerned with bullet conservation as well, and Kate weighed her options, wondering if it was worth it to swing around and go hunting through her saddle bag for another pistol. No, he was too close. The sound of his horse, snorting and breathing hard, was fast approaching; he was definitely gaining.

What to do, what to do? There was a saloon on her right, a quiet little establishment that probably had a great deal of trouble competing with the larger and more impressive Silver Spur on main street. There were 3 horses out front, saddled and drinking from the water trough. She calculated five seconds for a change of mount. What would those five seconds cost her? Gunsmoke was tiring, there was no way she could outrun a fresh horse on him. He was smart enough to head for the hills once Kate got off, but she hesitated to leave him with her other weaponry still in her saddle bag.

The saloon was just yards away now. Time to make a decision. Whipping around to snatch up her saddle bag, Kate thrust her feet from the stirrups and poised herself to leap onto the antsy paint horse now prancing nervously before her. With a whoop and a holler, Kate sprung from the saddle and leapt atop the paint, hastily scooping up the reigns and turning him away from the post. Gunsmoke had taken off, the empty saddle bouncing on his back, and Kate clapped her heels into the fresh mount's sides. "Better hurry, Marshal!" she crowed over her shoulder, urging the paint horse forward.

And she was off again, galloping through the town with wind tearing through her hair and a wild look in her eye. Wildcat Kate was back with vengeance.